Feelin' 50!

It was a big day today...Anne's 50th Birthday. We began the day with a visit to the Manassas/Bull Run battlefield where we learned about both battles that took place there. First Manassas was where Thomas J. Jackson was first referred to as "Stonewall", hence the statue to him that we saw on the battlefield.

We also saw the bridge that was a part of both First and Second Manassas.

After visiting Manassas in the morning, we had a casual, relaxed lunch and then headed back to our hotel room to take it easy a bit and to catch up on some supply shopping and laundry. We went out for a fun dinner at the local Silver Diner where we celebrated Anne's birthday. The restaurant staff brought cake and after asking for the attention of the entire restaurant, sang "Happy Birthday" to Anne. She was only mildly horrified at the attention. (She actually had a great time and handled things terrifically!)

In front (below) is our waitress, Beverly, who was a lot of fun the whole evening.

Anne got a Mother's pendant for her birthday, which contains a big stone at the top for her birthstone and then smaller stones for Steve, Rebecca and Erik.

All in all, it was a very relaxed day compared to what we've been doing recently. It was nice to recharge our batteries a bit as we prepare to leave the Baltimore/D.C. area tomorrow morning for the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania battlefields and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNE!

Lions and Tigers and Panda Bears...OH MY!

We began our day with our 10:30 AM reservations at the Washington Monument. We'd hoped to ride the elevator to the top and walk down, but sadly, they're not offering that option anymore, at least not to the general public. We did enjoy the view from the top though, on all four sides.

After the Washington Monument, we took what we didn't think was going to be a bad walk towards the Marine Corps Monument. The pedestrian part of the Theodore Roosevelt bridge curved in a way we didn't expect though and it ended up being a long, tiring walk. We made it though!

After Iwo Jima, we walked to Arlington National Cemetary and after paying our respects to Uncle Gareth's Father, who passed away last year...

...we witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

When we left Arlington National Cemetary, the kids experienced a first for them, a ride in a cab. (Apparently they've lived a rather sheltered life!)

We'd taken the cab to the National Zoo, where Steve finally got to witness in person something that had managed to elude him for years...

...THE GIANT PANDAS!!!!

After spending a few hours at the zoo, we experienced another interesting and enjoyable event...a ride in a Pedicab. Yes...the driver was able to take the 4 of us a few blocks from the zoo to the MARC station, though thankfully for him, it was mostly downhill.

We briefly pondered the idea of going back downtown to view Washington D.C. at night from the Washington Monument, but our tired feet overruled us. We packed it in, got dinner at a Tex/Mex place called California Tortilla and called it a night.

Does anyone have any Epsom Salts that we can borrow?

More Fun In D.C.

After a late night at Camden Yards, we had to be up very early the next morning to get in line for tickets to take the tour at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. (The place where they make our money!) It was too short of a night, but we soldiered on.

After getting our 12:30 tickets for the B.E.P., we took a walk over to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave and took a distant look at the White House before going to the White House Visitor's Center.

After the White House stuff, we took a walk to visit the Petersen House, a small dwelling across the street from Ford's Theatre, which is the place where Abraham Lincoln died from the mortal wound that he received at the Theatre. Sadly, the theatre itself is currently closed for renovation.

We left the Petersen house and took a short walk to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, where we all caught up with some interesting characters. Rebecca explored her inner folk singer at this close encounter with Bob Dylan.

Erik hung out with Will Smith.


Steve helped reveal a certain politician's true nature.

We ended the day at a new museum dedicated to the News, called the Newseum. It was a fascinating place where we could have spent days. Here, from a Newseum balcony, we had a great view of the Capitol Building.

We closed the day at the Newseum and one of the last things we saw was the actual cabin of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. It felt kind of eerie seeing the place he'd lived.

We had a great day, though with the short night of sleep and the large amount of walking we'd done the previous few days, our feet were sore and we were very tired. We made it a little earlier of an evening and we all slept well!

We Did Our Part!

The Red Sox won what ended up being a very good and very entertaining game. It was a night for Jasons as Jason Varitek hit a solo home run and newcomer Jason Bay hit two home runs. We were amazed at how many Red Sox fans were there. It looked more like a Red Sox home game than an Orioles home game.

It's Monday...Now we're really on VACATION!

Tonight will be kind of a late night...so here's what's goiong on today. We're spening the day in Baltimore, where we'll see a few things, including Fort McHenry, before ending the day at Camden Yards for tonights Red Sox/Orioles game.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Gillen!

Exploring D.C.

We took the Washington D.C. commuter train (MARC) this morning and headed into Washington D.C.. We began the day the at National Archives where we really enjoyed seeing the Declaration Of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights. After that, we walked to the Mall and visited a number of monuments.

Erik enjoyed paying tribute to his favorite president.

We noticed that the Washington Monument, which we intend to go inside of later this week, is visible from almost everywhere.

After dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, Rebecca picked up a little Hard Rock Cafe fashion.

Then, as we headed back towards the train, Anne came across an organization which just coincidentally is the same age that she is and one that she officially becomes a member of very soon. (Thursday...wink, wink!)

Our feet ache and we're ready for bed, but it was a very good day in which we saw a great deal. We found the monuments to be very impressive and awe inspiring. We also took more than a few moments to think about Uncle Harley as we visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. We miss him a great deal!

The Father of Our Country

We got up this morning, had a brief continental breakfast and then hit the road. After a brief stop at Cooch's Bridge in the Newark, DE area, a place where a small Revolutionary was skirmish took place and reportedly the place where the Betsy Ross flag was first unfurled, we made our way to the Baltimore/D.C. area.

We spent most of the afternoon visiting Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. Not only are the residence and the related buildings impressive to see, but Washington in general comes off as a very fascinating and inspirational character. We enjoyed the buildings and related museum exhibits a great deal.

Later in the evening, we came across this bank and felt compelled to take a picture. While there's nothing impressive about these banks and they're really all over the place, we thought it important to take a picture given that Chevy Chase is the person who played Clark Griswold in the "Vacation" movies. After all, this is Griswold 2008!

One final note...HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA HANSEN!